Oscar Harris
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Tonight I wanted to make a first attempt to make the definitive Oscar Harris CD compilation. But I couldn’t finish it in one evening.
Of course, most of the songs on this definitive Oscar Harris compilation (as far as i am authorised to claim anything definitive) will come from the first two LP’s. These are both nameless, but they look like this:
After these first great albums Oscar Harris, or probably his record companies, made it very difficult for people like me to keep track of his musical output. He did at least another six LP’s, not all that great but some still quite good, but the songs get endlessy recycled on samplers and even on his own albums. I am not a collector who wants things complete, I just want the best songs separated from the crap. That turned out way too much work for one evening. And also not work that suits me, because I didn’t really enjoyed listening to songs that are far from Oscar Harris best work, like ”Wintie groove” or ”Relax (before doin’ sex)”.
It also bothered me that some of the vinyl that I have is in a rather bad condition.
Like this 45 released on Velvet (???), with two of his best songs that I don’t have on any other LP or 45:
Here is one of these songs:
.
But the real problem with any attempt to come up with a definitive compilation, is that Oscar Harris has a long career, and operated in so many different genres. For example he made an LP with The Twinklestars, called “Trotyl”, on which they do some traditional Surinam music.
I really like that LP, but it doesn’t really fit very well together with his later disco ballads or his early soul. Not to mention the surprisingly nice religious LP, that he made with Het Urker Mannenkoor!
I will come back to this project later.